The seven GoCardless alternatives worth comparing in the UK in 2026 are Adfin, Stripe, London & Zurich, Access PaySuite, Modulr, Bottomline and AccessPay. GoCardless collects by direct debit and bank payment only, with no card payments and no invoice chasing, so the right alternative depends on whether you want those in the same place and whether you hold your own Service User Number. Adfin takes cards as well as direct debit, includes chasing, and moves 10 or more existing mandates across without your customers signing again.
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The short version
- The seven GoCardless alternatives worth comparing are Adfin, Stripe, London & Zurich, Access PaySuite, Modulr, Bottomline and AccessPay.
- GoCardless takes no cards, doesn't chase unpaid invoices and deducts fees before paying out.
- Adfin takes cards and direct debit, includes chasing and charges nothing for failed payments.
- PayPal and chasing tools such as Chaser can't collect direct debit, so they don't replace GoCardless.
- Move 10 or more mandates to Adfin and customers don't sign again.
Why businesses look beyond GoCardless
GoCardless's Standard plan charges 1% + 20p per direct debit, capped at £4, with no monthly fee. For many businesses, the reasons to look elsewhere have less to do with that rate than with the gaps and charges around it.
- No cards: GoCardless collects from bank accounts only, so card, Apple Pay and Google Pay payments go through a second provider, with its own fees, dashboard and payouts to reconcile.
- No chasing: it collects from customers who've signed a mandate and does nothing about those who haven't, or who pay by transfer. Many businesses add a separate chasing tool on top.
- Charges around the rate: transaction fees apply to every payment you submit, and they're taken off before the money reaches you. Direct debits over £2,000 carry an extra 0.3%, your own name on customers' statements is £50 a month and a custom checkout £150 a month. Its Success+ automatic retries need the Advanced plan (1.25% + 20p, capped at £5) or Pro (1.4% + 20p, capped at £5.60).
Seven alternatives compared
| Provider | Own SUN needed | Published direct debit price | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adfin | No | 1% + 20p, with the 1% capped at £4 | Payments, chasing and reconciliation together |
| Stripe | No | 1%, 20p minimum, capped at £4 | Businesses with developers |
| London & Zurich | No, a shared SUN on Foundation | About 1% on Foundation; no published cap | Small businesses wanting a bureau |
| Access PaySuite | No (managed), or use yours | From 8p a transaction, quoted | A managed bureau service |
| Modulr | Uses your own SUN | Quoted | Businesses and platforms building payments in |
| Bottomline | No (managed), or use yours | No public pricing | Larger receivables teams |
| AccessPay | Yes, with bank sponsorship | Annual subscription, quoted | Larger firms submitting their own Bacs files |
Adfin
Adfin can replace GoCardless, a card processor and a chasing tool with one platform. Customers choose how to pay, whether by direct debit, card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay by bank or bank transfer, from one link you send by email, text or WhatsApp. Pricing is per successful payment: 1% + 20p, with the 1% capped at £4 on direct debit and bank payments and an extra 0.3% on direct debits over £2,000. You don't need your own SUN, and there's no monthly fee and no contract.
Adfin charges nothing for a failed payment. A failed direct debit is retried at no cost, and if it still doesn't go through, the customer is asked to pay by another method. Money lands every weekday in full, and Adfin bills its fee separately, so payments match their invoices in Xero or QuickBooks with no deductions to unpick. Unpaid invoices are followed up by Adfin's Customer Agents, by email, text or WhatsApp sent from your own domain, on your timetable and within rules you approve. Your business name on customers' statements is £36 a month (Adfin Custom), chosen when you set up. Adfin collects in sterling only.
Stripe
Stripe's Bacs direct debit costs 1%, at least 20p and no more than £4, alongside cards and many other payment methods, each priced separately. A standard UK card payment is 1.5% + 20p, rising to 2.8% + 20p on premium cards such as business cards, and a disputed direct debit costs £5. Stripe Invoicing's Starter plan takes another 0.4% of every paid invoice, and fees come out of your payouts. It's built for businesses with developers, and it suits those taking payments in several currencies.
London & Zurich
London & Zurich is a UK bureau, authorised by the FCA, that runs direct debit for smaller firms. Entry-level Foundation pricing is about 1% of each collection, under a shared SUN with phone support. The Business tier starts from 0.5% or 20p and gives you a branded SUN, and larger clients get banded Enterprise pricing. None of the tiers has a published cap, which puts a £1,500 collection at roughly £15 on Foundation. Chasing unpaid invoices isn't part of the service.
Access PaySuite
Access PaySuite (formerly SmartDebit) is the payments business of The Access Group. It offers a facilities-managed service or processing under a SUN you already hold, quoted from 8p a transaction for smaller businesses, with the actual rate set by your volumes and payment sizes. Setup is free, but you'll need a quote before you start, and its standard terms run for an initial 12 months unless your order sets a different term.
Modulr
Modulr is a payments institution, regulated by the FCA, that connects to Bacs directly. You collect by direct debit or open banking under a SUN in your own name. Its pricing page covers outbound payments, so ask for a quote on collections.
Bottomline
Bottomline runs a Bacs-approved bureau and software for larger finance teams, including a managed option if you don't have a SUN. It links to ERP and CRM systems by API and is sold through a demo, with no public prices.
AccessPay
AccessPay is Bacs-approved software for businesses that submit their own Bacs files, including direct debit collections. You need your own SUN, which means sponsorship from your bank, and pricing is a fixed annual subscription quoted on your volumes and systems. It's a different company from Access PaySuite, despite the similar name.
Tools that won't replace GoCardless
Several products turn up in lists of GoCardless alternatives without being able to collect a direct debit.
- PayPal has no Bacs direct debit for UK merchants. Its recurring payments run on cards or PayPal balance agreements, charged at its 2.9% + 30p commercial rate.
- Chasing tools such as Chaser, Satago and Paidnice send reminders and statements but don't collect direct debit themselves. They do the chasing, so you'd still need a direct debit provider alongside them.
- Nuapay is now owned by GoCardless, so it isn't a separate option.
How to move your mandates
With 10 or more mandates, leaving GoCardless doesn't mean asking customers to sign again: Adfin transfers them for you under the Bacs bulk change process, and collections carry on. Below 10, each customer signs a fresh Adfin mandate.
Before the move, list every recurring amount and collection date so each schedule is set up on the new platform, and tell customers the name on their bank statements will change. From then on, Adfin notifies them at least three working days before each collection.
Adfin collects in sterling only, so for customers paying in other currencies, GoCardless or Stripe may suit you better.
Common questions
Which GoCardless alternative takes cards as well as direct debit? Adfin, which accepts card, Apple Pay and Google Pay alongside pay by bank and direct debit through a single payment link. Stripe also offers cards and Bacs, priced as separate products.
Does any GoCardless alternative include invoice chasing? Yes. Adfin includes chasing over email, SMS and WhatsApp from your own email domain in its per-payment price, and its Customer Agents work within rules you set.
Do my customers have to re-sign if I leave GoCardless? No, provided you're moving at least 10 mandates, which Adfin transfers through the Bacs bulk change process. Fewer than 10 means customers sign a new Adfin mandate.
How does Adfin's price compare with GoCardless? Adfin charges 1% + 20p per successful payment with the percentage capped at £4, the same headline percentage and fixed fee as GoCardless Standard. Cards, chasing and free retries are included in Adfin's price.
Can I collect direct debit without my own Service User Number? Yes. Adfin, Stripe, London & Zurich, Access PaySuite and Bottomline all let you collect without one. Modulr and AccessPay work with your own SUN.
Does GoCardless take card payments? No. It only collects from bank accounts, so taking cards means adding another provider, or moving to one such as Adfin that takes both.
Sources
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
- GoCardless - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://gocardless.com/pricing/
- GoCardless Support Centre - Pricing & Fees (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/articles/21721571804188-Pricing-Fees
- Stripe - Local payment method pricing (UK) (accurate as of October 2026) https://stripe.com/gb/pricing/local-payment-methods
- London & Zurich - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.londonandzurich.co.uk/pricing/
- AccessPay - Bacs-approved software (accurate as of October 2026) https://accesspay.com/solutions/payments-automation/bacs-approved-software/
